Digitally enabled value co-creation at the bottom of the pyramid

Research on the co-creation of value has proliferated since the introduction of servicedominant (S-D) logic (Vargo & Lusch, 2004, 2016) and service logic (SL) (Grönroos, 2006, 2011) in marketing theory and practice. It is argued that firms are moving from the goodsdominant logic perspective to the service-centred logic (Hartwig et al., 2021). There is an emerging consensus in the literature that value is always co-created as a result of interactions between multiple actors, and determined by the ultimate beneficiary (i.e. customers) through value-in-use (Merz et al., 2018). This value co-creation process is afforded by the technological platforms and enhanced by digital technologies (Ramaswamy & Ozcan, 2018; Balaji & Roy, 2017). However, most of the research on value co-creation originates from the developed economies, and limited attention has gone into examining this novel phenomenon from the perspective of bottom of the pyramid (BoP) customers in developing economies (Nahi, 2016). Thus, the aim of this special issue is to push the boundary of academic knowledge in value co-creation by analysing its application in the BoP market. Whilst the concepts of both BoP and value co-creation have gained increased currency in marketing and management scholarship, there has been a limited focus thus far on the dynamics and kinetics of value co-creation at the BoP (Dey, Pandit, Saren, Bhowmick & Woodruffe-Burton 2016; Dembek et al., 2020; Mason et al., 2017; Nahi, 2016). The particular focus of this special issue is on the use of digital technology, which has created opportunities for exciting and novel empirical works. The scholarly works published in this special issue make a significant contribution to the body of knowledge by addressing this understudied area using a wide range of theoretical lenses and delivering empirical findings from myriad contexts. We have studies conducted in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cameroon and with empirical findings that relate to the agriculture, healthcare, music, and food-processing sectors. We have also received a balanced mix of qualitative and quantitative studies. In addition, scholars have used various theoretical lenses, such as S-D logic, consumer culture theory, and affordance theory. All the papers offer critical insights into the concept of BoP and provide rich managerial and policy implications. One of the papers in particular has delved into the sustainability concept, while another paper recommends the strategic use of channels and agentic relationships. As such, we can identify useful directions for future research. We begin with an article on digital commerce at the bottom of the pyramid. This is appropriate given the title of our special issue which explores digitally enabled value cocreation at the bottom of the pyramid. In this article, Utami, Alamanos and Kuznesof report on an inductive analysis based upon twenty in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews in rural and urban locations in Indonesia. Their study identifies value co-creation occurring in JOURNAL OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT 2021, VOL. 37, NOS. 9–10, 813–815 https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2021.1945218